Terry McLaurin’s name still gets respect around the league, but ESPN’s latest wide receiver rankings made the drop-off impossible to ignore.
Jeremy Fowler’s annual top 10, built from votes by league executives, coaches and scouts, left the Washington Commanders receiver out of the top 10 and also out of the six-player honorable mention group. McLaurin did receive some votes, but that was as far as it went.
After the season he just had, the omission isn’t exactly shocking. McLaurin was limited to 10 games by a quadriceps injury and finished with 38 catches for 582 yards and three touchdowns, which snapped his five-year streak of 1,000-yard seasons. That kind of stat line was never going to carry him into a crowded field full of younger receivers coming off massive years.
What makes the ranking sting a little more is how fast the conversation changed. Before last season’s injury-shortened campaign, McLaurin had put together 82 receptions for 1,096 yards and a franchise-record 13 touchdowns.
That 2024 season brought him second-team All-Pro honors, and it came after he finally got some stability at quarterback. Since arriving in Washington in 2019, McLaurin has played with 13 different starting quarterbacks.
Now, one year later, he didn’t even make ESPN’s extended list.
Of course, the rankings themselves don’t decide anything for Washington. The Commanders need McLaurin on the field and back at his best, not on a ballot. The real question is whether last season was just a detour.
Washington is still counting on him to be the receiver who forces defenses to change how they play the passing game. If he gets back to form this season, this ranking will be a footnote. If he doesn’t, ESPN may have been giving the first clear sign of how the rest of the league now sees him.
McLaurin wasn’t the only Commanders name drawing attention this week. Tight end Ben Sinnott also spoke about the new offense, telling JP Finlay, “I love it. I think this one really fits my play style, the kind of player I am”
Washington drafted Sinnott in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft expecting a Swiss-army knife type of piece, but his role has been hard to pin down. Commanders.com recently described him as “a bit of an enigma” while looking at the tight end room before training camp.
Through 33 games, Sinnott has 16 catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns. His blocking has stood out, but the Commanders haven’t settled on a steady role for him as a receiver.
With new offensive coordinator David Blough expected to lean more on motion and play-action, Sinnott may finally get a chance to show what he can do. Training camp should offer the first real clue about where he fits.
Elsewhere in the league, the Dallas Cowboys missed their deadline to reach a multiyear extension with franchise-tagged receiver George Pickens by 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to DallasCowboys.com. Pickens will now play this season on the $27.298 million franchise tag for receivers.
Pickens put up 1,429 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season, and pairing him with CeeDee Lamb gives Dallas one of the NFL’s best receiver duos. Still, the Cowboys stopped short of locking him in beyond this year. Pickens already signed the tender and took part in mandatory minicamp, so there’s no holdout situation brewing - just an unresolved future for now.
In Other News...
Cowboys Fans May Hate How This Jalen Carter Twist Helps Philly
The Eagles long-term plan along the defensive line is starting to look a little less settled, and that matters in Dallas even before any move is made. Philadelphia is said to be reluctant to commit to a lucrative multi-year extension for Jalen Carter, which has opened the door to speculation about whether the Eagles would rather reshape that part of the roster than pay to keep it intact.
Josh Sweat is the other name making this feel relevant for Cowboys fans, because his situation in Arizona has reportedly grown uneasy and his history against Dallas is already part of the conversation. Sweat has piled up 6.0 career sacks against the Cowboys and remains a familiar nuisance from years of matchups, so any path that puts him back in Philadelphia would be one more reminder that the Eagles are still trying to find a way to stay one step ahead in the division. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Finally Found What Makes Dak And The Run Game Click
The Cowboys run game started to look more functional last season once Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams took over the offensive operation, and the change was about more than just a new voice. Dallas leaned harder into tight ends in its personnel packages, moving away from the old habit of living with three wide receivers and giving the offense a sturdier look that helped the blocking and opened up more room for Dak Prescott to work.
Those heavier formations also made the Cowboys less easy to diagnose, which mattered for an offense that had grown familiar under Mike McCarthy. With more two- and three-tight-end looks, Dallas gave defenses different problems to solve and created a more versatile attack, one that could stress coverage and the front at the same time. The bigger question now is whether that structure can keep producing the same kind of edge when opponents spend a full offseason preparing for it. [Read more 🡒]